World War II On Topic

Coming soon from The National WWII Museum, Antisemitism: The Fight in WWII America is a five-part podcast series exploring the battle against antisemitism in prewar America and during World War II as well as the legacy of these efforts, which continue today. 

We begin in 1938, examining voices who were sympathetic to Nazism, while also highlighting voices who raised public awareness of the ongoing mass murder of Europe’s Jewish populations. The first two episodes examine American groups sympathetic to the Nazi; the next two focus on organizations that countered antisemitism during the war. The fifth and final episode looks at the legacy of liberation today.

This is D-Day, as told through the real voices of those who were in Normandy on June 6, 1944. The National WWII Museum’s archival collection features over 12,000 personal narratives, including voices of those who fought on D-Day.

In this special episode of World War II On Topic, Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy Senior Historian Mark Calhoun, PhD, and Distinguished Fellow Rob Citino, PhD, discuss the legacy of D-Day, 80 years after the consequential invasion of Normandy began.

Catch up on all episodes of World War II On Topic and be sure to leave us a review on your favorite podcast platform.

Click HERE to follow the new podcast by The National WWII Museum: Making Masters of the Air.

Masters of the Air is an Apple Original series from executive producers of Band of Brothers and The Pacific, streaming January 26 on Apple TV+.

The series follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group (the “Bloody Hundredth”) as they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, lack of oxygen and sheer terror of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the air.

Masters of the Air is based on the best-selling book by Donald Miller, and features a stellar cast led by Academy Award nominee Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, Nate Mann, Rafferty Law, Academy Award nominee Barry Keoghan, Josiah Cross, Branden Cook and Ncuti Gatwa.

The Making Masters of the Air podcast by The National WWII Museum is co-hosted by Playtone’s Kirk Saduski and Donald Miller, author of the book, Masters of the Air.

Listen to the premiere episode featuring an interview with Executive Producer Tom Hanks on Friday, January 26.

Masters of the Air is an Apple Original series from executive producers of Band of Brothers and The Pacific. Streaming on January 26 on Apple TV+ 

In this special season of World War II On Topic, The National WWII Museum will explore J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, and the history and ramifications of the atomic bomb. 

In this episode, Jason Dawsey, PhD, and John Curatola, PhD, historians with the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, discuss the legacy of the Manhattan Project.

To read more visit our Manhattan Project topics page: www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/manhattan-project

In this special season of World War II On Topic, The National WWII Museum will explore J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, and the history and ramifications of the atomic bomb. 

The anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima was August 6. In this episode, we hear from two extraordinary people who experienced the bombing, albeit from vastly different perspectives. While much has been written and said on the subject, these are firsthand recollections, excerpted from the oral histories given by Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk and Ittsei Nakagawa.

Van Kirk was the navigator on the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortress bomber that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima. He was the last surviving member of the Enola Gay crew before his death in 2014.

Nakagawa was a Japanese American from California who got stuck in Japan due to the war. He was there, in Hiroshima, on that fateful day and survived to tell his experience.

These oral histories were recorded by the Museum and provide a first-person look into the lives of those who experienced these amazing and terrifying events.

To read more visit our Manhattan Project topics page: www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/manhattan-project

In this special season of World War II On Topic, The National WWII Museum will explore J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, and the history and ramifications of the atomic bomb. 

In this episode, Jason Dawsey, PhD & John Curatola, PhD, historians with the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy, discuss the film Oppenheimer, released July 21, 2023.

Directed by Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer was adapted from the biography American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin. Jason and John explore the history behind the movie, its accuracy, and its influence.

To read more visit our Manhattan Project topics page: www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/manhattan-project

In this special season of World War II On Topic, The National WWII Museum will explore J. Robert Oppenheimer, the Manhattan Project, and the history and ramifications of the atomic bomb. 

In this episode, we take a closer look at Lieutenant General Leslie Groves, director of the Manhattan Project. While a lot of interest is rightfully set on Oppenheimer, Groves proves to be an interesting character and pivotal player in the development of the bomb.

During the Museum’s 2015 International Conference, Dr. Robert Norris, author of Racing for the Bomb: General Leslie R. Groves, the Manhattan Project’s Indispensable Man, spoke about Groves and his role in the Manhattan Project. The lecture featured in this episode was edited for length, but the entire session, also featuring author Richard Frank and host Dr. Conrad Crane.

To read more visit our Manhattan Project topics page: www.nationalww2museum.org/war/topics/manhattan-project

This episode is brought to you by the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy.

At the 2012 International Conference on World War II, we were privileged to listen to a conversation between renowned author, Rick Atkinson and World War II Veterans Walt Ehlers & Gerhard Hennes.

Walt served in the 3rd Infantry Division of the US Army in North Africa. He then served with the 1st Infantry Division in Normandy where he performed actions that were later awarded the Medal of Honor.

Gerhard was in the German Afrika Korps and was captured in North Africa, becoming a Prisoner of War for the remainder of the War.

If you would like to view the original conversation, you can see it here: https://youtu.be/ikH0nKNA4W8

This is World War II on Topic: Veteran Voices. This episode is a collaboration between the Museum’s Jenny Craig Institute for the Study of War and Democracy and the Curatorial Services Department.

Back in May 2021, when Senior Curator, Kim Guise, had a conversation with WWII Veteran and Concentration Camp Liberator Alan Moskin.

Moskin was a member of the 66th Regiment of the 71st Infantry Division and participated in the Liberation of the Gunskirchen concentration camp in May 1945. He discusses his pre-war life, wartime experiences, and being a part of an innovative exhibit installation, Dimensions in Testimony: Liberator Alan Moskin, an interactive biography from USC Shoah Foundation.

If you would like to view the original conversation, you can see it here: